James McAvoy Hopes to Lead a Revolution Against Invading Aliens in ‘Extinction’

James McAvoy has been said to be a pretty huge sci-fi fan, and since he’s starred in three X-Men movies (not to mention when he was Leto Atreides in the 2003 Children of Dune miniseries), we totally believe him. Today it was reported that he has an eye on a role in the sci-fi action-thriller Extinction.

When it comes to sci-fi, this movie sounds like a Stefon bit from Saturday Night Live. It has everything: Deadline reports that the story of Extinction “follows a man haunted by nightmares in which his wife is assaulted and who becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by an army bent on destruction.” McAvoy would play a father and a factory mechanic who “realizes that he is the first robot to feel human emotion,” and finds out that the invading aliens are not as peaceful as they might seem. Oh yeah, we have robots and aliens in this one. Philip K. Dick is setting off fireworks from beyond the veil.

The picture doesn’t have a director yet, but it’s had a number of writers attached to the project, including Brad Caleb Kane (Black Sails, Fringe), Spenser Cohen, and Eric Heisserer, who wrote the 2011 remake of The Thing, as well as this year’s Lights Out and Arrival. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, who both produced The Fighter, are producing this film. McAvoy has just finished shooting The Coldest City with Charlize Theron, and we’ll see him again in theaters as soon as this January, when Split premieres January 20, 2017.